Japanese mother partially acquitted over abuse of daughter

The Osaka District Court on Monday acquitted a 35-year-old mother of charges of habitual assault and fraud after she was accused of hospitalizing her daughter, then 8, by not feeding her properly for mutual aid money. However, presiding Judge Kunitaka Iwasaki found Kasumi Nawata guilty of attempted coercion, sentencing her to six months in prison, suspended for two years. Iwasaki also acquitted her of fraud charges, saying that the mother "didn't intentionally put the daughter into a state of hypoglycemia." The judge found Nawata guilty of attempted coercion, acknowledging that the mother repeatedly sent mobile messages telling the daughter not to eat while in hospital. The mother had also been charged with sending the mobile messages in February that year.